‘Ujb: To see one self as being good.

Kibr: To think highly of one self and lowly of others and to reject the truth.

If a person does not think of one self as higher than others and does not consider others to be lower than one self and accepts the truth then despite having wealth, kingdom and nice clothes this person will not be afflicted with pride and conceit. As it is mentioned in the book called “Malfuzaat Kamaalaat-e-Ashrafiya” that Hazrat Thanwi has said, “When a person thinks highly of oneself then that person is considered lowly in the sight of Allah Ta’ala and when a person thinks low of oneself then he becomes elevated in the sight of Allah Ta’ala. Being conceited and proud is a disease of unintelligent foolish people. At the time of bidding farewell to the bride a group of her friends gathered and congratulated her for looking beautiful with her nice clothes and jewelry on, that bride then started to cry and she said I don’t know if this beauty you speak of will be accepted in the sight of my husband or not, the real decision of whether I am pretty or beautiful or not is in the hands of my husband and it is not for you to decide. I have to live with him for the rest of my life; hence, what he says goes. A person would be more foolish than even this bride, who before the decision of his Master in this life considers oneself to be good and has become stupid due to the praises of a few people when in reality, the real decision will be made on the Day of Judgment. To think highly of oneself prior to the Day of Judgment will be extremely unintelligent and foolish.

The example of one who thinks highly of them self because of the praises of others is like that of a person who owns a restless horse and does not let owner ride it and finally after losing all hope the owner takes the horse to an auction with the intention of selling it. The auctioneer then started to praise the horse and speak highly of it and mention qualities that in reality did not exist within the horse so that it could be sold at a maximum price. The owner out of foolishness then said to the auctioneer that since my horse is so good I’ve decided to not sell it. This foolish owner has forgotten the experience of a lifetime of all the restlessness and bad manners of the horse. Similarly, that person who is familiar with the evils and sins of one self, if someone decides to praise this person then based off that praise to consider one to be good is the height of stupidity.

Being conceited and having pride deprives a person from the mercy of Allah Ta’ala. One should consider every single quality one has whether it be knowledge, wealth, beauty or health all to be a gift from Allah Ta’ala and to think of these things as something that a person developed on their own is similar to a lover who takes a mirror to his beloved and instead of looking at his beloved looks at himself in the mirror, it’s because of this behavior the beloved would then push away and kick this type of lover out. Being conceited and having pride is such an illness that destroys ones worldly life and the hereafter. It is mentioned in a hadith narrated by Imam Bayhaqi, “Whoever lowers oneself for the sake of Allah Ta’ala, Allah will elevate and honor that person, so this person will become lowly in ones’ own sight, but will be honorable in the sight of people and that person who thinks highly of oneself, Allah Ta’ala degrades that person and that person becomes degraded in the sight of people as well to such an extent that people will consider this person to be worse than a pig or a dog.

1. Cut off any and all forms of communication with the soon to be deceased person, i.e. speaking to them, looking at them, meeting them, even to the extent that if somebody else mentions them then stop that person from speaking about them. Somehow, intentionally or forcefully find an excuse if one has to, to mention any negative qualities regarding that person and speak ill of them so that at the end they end up developing hatred towards you. So that if initially there was some sort of inclination on the part of the other person that will no longer remain and physically distance oneself from this person to such an extent where even by accident you won’t be able to see them. The main point is that there should be a complete cut off from them.

2. Stipulate a time of solitude for oneself, perform a fresh ghusl, and wear clean clothes, put on some fragrance. Individually pray two rak’ats with the intention of making tawbah (Salat ul Tawbah), thereafter make abundant istighfar, sincere tawbah and ask Allah Ta’ala to grant one salvation from this disease. And anywhere from 500 to 1000 times make zikr of the first Kalimah such that when you say “La Ilaaha” imagine that you’ve taken everything other than Allah out from your heart and when you say “Illallah” imagine that you have firmly established the love of Allah Ta’ala within your heart. This zikr should be done with a light swaying of the head from the right to the left side.

3. Imagine regarding any pious person with one whom has an extreme sense of reliability that that pious person is sitting in your heart and is emptying out all the filth from ones’ heart.

4. To read any book of hadith or any other book which mentions the punishment that will be given to those who are disobedient to Allah Ta’ala and which mentions the punishments of the hereafter in general.

5. Stipulate a time for one self where one is alone and imagine the following scene that: I am standing in front of Allah on the Day of Judgement and Allah is saying to me, “O Vile person, have you no shame that you have left me and have gone towards something that is soon to die, was this the right that We have over you, was it for this reason that We have created you? O Ungrateful one, using those things that We have given you, your eyes, your heart, your limbs, etc. You use them to disobey Me, have you no modesty.” For a long period of time a person should be involved in this thought process even if a person feels any form of stress or discomfort whether it be physical or emotional using ones’ courage and willpower a person should carry out the above-mentioned prescriptions.

And Allah Ta’ala is the one who gives the ultimate cure.

Twelve Tips to Wake up for Fajr in the Light of Qur’an, Hadith and the Teachings of Our Elders

1. To supplicate to Allah with the following رب اجعلني مقيم الصلوة و من ذريتي ربنا و تقبل دعاء

ربنا اغفرلي ولوالدي وللمؤمنين يوم يقوم الحساب

By the blessings of this du’a, Insha Allah you and your children will be granted the ability to be punctual with your prayers.

2. If it’s convenient then to take a nap in the afternoon which is also a sunnah and aids in causing a person to wake up for Fajr.

3. To have dinner early and to not overeat. Mawlana Thanwi (RA) has written that when a person eats, there comes a moment where a question arises in his mind should I continue eating or quit? The moment this question arises, a person should stop eating.

4. To not drink water before going to sleep unless there is a dire need to do so and if so, then to drink a small amount.

5. To go to sleep early otherwise the above-mentioned points will be of no benefit.

6. To perform those acts which are sunnah prior to going to sleep, refer to Beautiful Sunnahs of the Beloved Nabi (S), by Hazrat Mawlana Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Sahib (DB).

7. Prior to going to sleep tell someone to wake you up for Fajr.

8. To use an alarm clock and to put it at such a distance that one has to get up and out of their bed and walk to turn it off, by doing so the stupor of sleep will wear off.

9. To recite verse number 127 of Surah Baqarah or the last four verses of Surah Kahf before going to sleep. By reciting these verses if a person intends to wake up at a particular time, Insha Allah one will wake up on that time.

10. Immediately upon waking up, to sufficiently rub your eyes according to the sunnah, this too will cause the effects of sleep to wear off.

11. If possible, upon waking up after wiping ones’ face with ones’ hands recite verses 190-194 of Surah Al-Imran. This is also a sunnah. ‘Ulema have written that through their experience this practice also causes the effects of sleep to go away.

12. Upon awakening from ones sleep, using ones strength and willpower immediately stand up. Never fall victim to the ploy of ones nafs that I will wake up in a little while otherwise one will miss their salaah.

The following points should be read numerous times a day such that they could be recalled at the time of anger:

1. To recite اعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

2. To perform wudhu.

3. To change ones’ position, i.e. if one is standing, then sit, if one is sitting, then lay down.

4. To remove oneself from the company of whomever the person is angry with or to remove that person from ones’ own company.

5. To sit in the company of some righteous person.

6. To occupy ones’ self with the remembrance of Allah or in particular to send salutations upon the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam).

7. As far as possible, to not speak nor have any type of dealing(s) with the person one is angry with.

8. To reflect on the following point, that anger spoils ones’ iman (faith) just as aloe spoils honey.

9. To ponder over this point, that I am also at fault with Allah and if I am taken to task regarding my faults, then it would be difficult for me to attain salvation. Hence, if I overlook or forgive the faults of others I hope that my own faults would be overlooked and forgiven by Allah. Therefore, to overlook and forgive the faults of the person one is angry with is the best course of action.

10. If one acts contrary to the above-mentioned points, then one should penalize ones’ self financially anywhere from fifty cents to ten dollars (or whatever currency is appropriate) by donating the amount to charity along with praying four rak’ats (in sets of two), nafl salah.

* Reviver of the Sunnah, Hazrat Mawlana Shah Abrar-ul-Haq Sahib (RA)